The present invention relates to an insulating cover comprising four side walls and a roof structure, the roof structure comprising an outer and an inner layer, e.g. a vinyl-resin material, and an intermediate layer of a pliant, resilient foamed plastics material or like material, the cover being intended to be placed around goods on a rectangular loading pallet which has a substantially planar frame structure extending around at least two mutually opposing side edges and projecting upwardly from the load-carrying surface of the pallet.
Insulating covers for the transport of, e.g. refrigerated goods have hitherto had the form of rigid units of the refrigerator-box type. Although such boxes are excellent from the aspect of insulation, they have the disadvantage of being too bulky and take up too much space when being returned empty. It is also known to use small insulating covers which are filled with, e.g. wadding, foamed plastics or like materials and which are used to insulate small cooking vessels from the ambient air. One important advantage afforded by such a soft, insulating cover is that it can be compressed. Consequently, it would seem in theory that such a cover could be made in a larger size, such as to render it useful for insulating goods loaded on pallets. One disadvantage with such a cover made of a soft material and of known construction is that it must be lifted off the pallet before the goods can be removed therefrom. It is also difficult to pack.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the invention to provide an insulating cover of the kind mentioned in the introduction which can be stored in a collapsed state, thereby to take up the least room possible, which can be readily opened and which affords good insulation.